Last night on Mad Men, dapper Don Draper has to go to Rome on business, and seemingly on a whim, Betty asks if she can accompany him.

Once they're in Rome, something happens to Betty. She glams it up, flirts with Don, and their stultifying marriage seems to get an erotic adrenaline shot to the heart. It's as if they get to meet each other for the first time all over again. In fact, in one sequence, Betty waits for Don at an outdoor cafe, and when he sees that a couple Italian men are trying to pick her up, he pretends to horn in on their pickup. He sits down, begins chatting with her, and the Italian men, disgusted, leave.

Predictably, as soon as they get back home, Betty stiffens up and rebuffs Don's romantic overtures, telling him bluntly that she hates her life at home. He gives her a gift, a charm of the Roman Colliseum, and her deflating response is, "So every time I look at it I'll remember the time we had in Rome."

It would be wonderful if we could bring home the excitement we have with our partners on vacation. Although not all of us turn into stone cold Betties upon our returns home, there is something about traveling that can bring out our best. Why is vacation sex so good, and is it possible to keep the excitement going?

(For more Mad Men, check out BuzzSugar's 5 Maddest Mad Men moments from last night's episode.)

Photo courtesy of AMC